While the world of collegiate athletics is constantly changing, one predictable change is the influx of young talent every year in the form of freshmen. With the release of regular decisions for Penn’s Class of 2030, The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down with four incoming freshman student-athletes to talk about their careers leading up to Penn, the recruiting process, and aspirations for life in the City of Brotherly Love.
Katelynn Zhou — Women’s swimming and diving
First up is Katelynn Zhou, who is originally from Allen, Texas. While the semester may feel like it’s flying by for the Penn community, it has been a long time coming for Zhou, who is excited to finally arrive on campus after committing back in fall 2024.
Zhou started swimming alongside her sister when she was five years old, and now, she is a star in the Lone Star state, racking up medals at Speedo Winter Junior Championships and seven final appearances at UIL 6A State — the most competitive high school meet in Texas.
“I just loved being in the water. My parents didn’t really have to convince me to go to practice, which was definitely different than some other sports.” Zhou said.
With her versatility in breaststroke, individual medley, and sprint freestyle, Zhou is looking forward to being an impactful contributor to both individual races and relays and helping build on the program’s historic end to the season. Her best time of 2:00.12 in the 200-yard individual medley would have qualified for finals at the most recent conference championships.
Zhou’s favorite part of her career so far has been the people and environments she’s been a part of. Home to the powerhouse Texas Longhorns swimming and diving program, Zhou’s home state is naturally a competitive and strong swimming community that has inspired her through her career so far.
“Growing up and swimming at [the Texas] pool where so many Olympians and Texas swimmers train, it’s super motivating and really inspirational,” Zhou said.
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Drake Bentke — Baseball
Fellow Texan Drake Bentke had similar thoughts about the energetic and competitive community in which he grew up and developed his game. Bentke’s small hometown of Brenham, Texas and local high school are uniquely strong and historic baseball communities in a state where football dominates sports conversations.
“The great crowds that we have every single day and every single game, regardless of the success of the team, has been awesome,” Bentke said, “Getting recognized in the community by people you don’t know, who tell you good game — that’s been really cool.”
Bentke’s ties to baseball run deep. His father was a four-year varsity baseball player for Brenham High School and part of a state championship team.
In his sophomore year, Bentke committed to Texas A&M but decommitted after the departure of Jim Schlossnagle as head coach. After a breakout junior year and touring Yale and Columbia, Bentke decided to become a Quaker, driven by the opportunity to grow academically and athletically.
“I was really thinking about it, and nothing is going to beat Wharton on the business side, and Penn is a really strong school where I’ll be able to develop under a really good coach whom I trust,” Bentke said.
In the long term, Bentke has dreams of playing professionally. However, in the interim, he’s excited to be in the outfield for Brenham, and soon Meiklejohn Stadium, and chase both wins on the field and in the classroom. On the personal side, Bentke is looking forward to simpler things like experiencing a Phillies game live.
Aaliyah Khan — Women’s track and field
Jumper Aaliyah Khan is similarly looking forward to enjoying the historic sports in Philadelphia, specifically (of course) the Penn Relay Carnival. Originally from the West Coast, Khan didn’t have the opportunity to compete at Penn Relays in high school. But according to Khan, the opportunity to don the Red and Blue at Franklin Field at the famous meet is “the coolest thing ever.”
“Penn Relays is super iconic. I always heard about it, and I thought it was the coolest thing,” Khan said, “Competing on Franklin Field and having that be my home field is such a dream come true.”
Khan wasn’t always just on the field. Growing up, Khan was also in the pool and on the court, perfecting her stroke technique and shooting. It wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that she decided to focus solely on track and field.
Khan subsequently started to follow track and field more closely and currently looks up to professional track and field stars Tara Davis-Woodhall and Sha’Carri Richardson. Last year, she helped her team to a state championship.
When she visited Penn, Khan fell in love with nearly everything from the campus to the city to the members of the team.
“I love the city, and the campus just gave me a really good feel,” Khan said, “I liked how the team bonded … I felt like there was a certain prestige and I felt like Penn would make me push myself and get to where I want to get to, both in the classroom and track.”
Jake Casamento — Men’s lacrosse
Similar to Khan, Jake Casamento has played multiple sports, including golf and basketball, but it’s lacrosse — the sport that he’s played since first grade — that has gotten him an opportunity to play at the Division I level.
Casamento, too, has helped his high school team to a state championship, but at the end of the day, it’s his relationships with his teammates, not the wins, that motivate him to return to the field every day.
“[My friends and I] have basically played every year and have grown up playing together, and now, we’re all on the same high school team. Playing with them has been the best,” Casamento said, “We’ve become more than a team, but a family.”
The journey to Penn wasn’t the easiest for Casamento, who suffered through a fibula injury during his sophomore year, leading into recruiting season. His summer performance was impressive to the Navy, where he initially committed in part because of the long line of family alumni on his father’s side. But, after a strong junior year season, Casamento wanted to explore schools where he could perform at a high level both academically and athletically. Some well-timed switchups, including a recruit decommitting from Penn and coach Taylor Wray’s hire last summer, helped bring Casamento to Penn.
“I knew that Penn was a place where I wanted to be,” Casamento said. ‘
The cherry on top of it all was that Casamento and his family are huge Philadelphia sports fans. Casamento’s dad went to high school just across the river in Cherry Hill, N.J., while his aunt currently works in the Penn Medicine system.
